


Saxophone

by Rei_the_Rat



Series: 10 Days of LawLu 2k17 [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: 10 Days of LawLu 2017, 10 days of LawLu, Established Relationship, Fluff, LawLu - Freeform, M/M, jazz!Luffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-07
Updated: 2017-06-07
Packaged: 2018-11-10 12:22:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11126916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rei_the_Rat/pseuds/Rei_the_Rat
Summary: A night off early leads Law to a guilty realization that he has to fix.





	Saxophone

**Author's Note:**

> My first, and very late, entry for 10 Days of LawLu this year. Hopefully will get the rest up soon
> 
> Thank you [Shishiswordsman](http://shishiswordsman.tumblr.com/) for helping me look over this

Law was, for lack of a better description, kicked out of the hospital. Well, in reality he was told he was working too much again, and that he ought to get the hell out, courtesy of senior doctor Kureha. But it felt like he’d just been kicked out.

He stretched on the way to his car, contemplating what to do with himself. Usually, Penguin and Shachi would drag him off to a bar if they got out early. But his friends were out of town on personal business. So he had the freedom to do as he pleased with his days off. A smile found its way to his face, and he quickened his pace to his car.

His boyfriend would be ecstatic to know he had some time off. It was on short notice, but he doubted Luffy would mind. Once inside his car, Law pulled out his phone. The date and time flashed on the screen with a bright light, illuminating the darkness in his car and momentarily blinding Law. When the glare lessened, Law looked back at his phone and frowned a bit. He had forgotten what day it was, so maybe Kuroha had a point; maybe he had been working too much. A Friday night meant Luffy was at work.

Luffy was a musician who played at a lounge downtown. Once a month he also played at a rather ritzy hotel and occasionally he would volunteer to help out with school musical productions. But Tuesday through Friday he played with his friends at the East Blue jazz lounge.

Law smiled at the thought of Luffy playing his saxophone and then halted as a realization derailed him. He had no idea what a saxophone sounded like.

He was sure he had heard one somewhere before, but he couldn’t pull up a tune or song to place to the instrument. Was he even thinking of the right instrument? What did a saxophone look like again? What did Luffy look like while playing it? Did he stand? Read sheet music? Could he play with his eyes close?

Too many questions with no answers, and Law felt guilty for not knowing. He had been dating Luffy for over a year and not once had he ever heard Luffy practice or asked him to play. Music was important to Luffy just as the medical practice was to him.

Law growled under his breath as he started his car. At least it was an issue easily remedied. He still felt awful about it, but he would apologize to Luffy and make it up to him.

* * *

 

It was a little after ten when Law pulled into the parking lot of the lounge. He grabbed his bag from the back seat before heading inside. The atmosphere of the lounge was calm and quiet. Law could hear the soft murmur of others as he walked through the foyer to the hostess’ podium.

The young woman greeted him with a smile. “Just one? And will you be needing a menu tonight?”

“Ah, yes. And maybe just a drink. I came to listen.”

“That’s fine. We get a lot of college kids this time of year.”

Law almost corrected her but decided to just leave it. Did he really look like a student? With the messenger bag, he suppose he could pass as one. He chuckled to himself at the thought.

She led him across the the dining area and pass the bar on the far wall, only stopping to grab a small menu from the counter. The booths in the lounge were each embraced by large curtains hanging from the ceiling. They could be pulled closer to block out more sound or pushed back almost completely. It gave the customers a secure sense of privacy. The hostess brought him to one of the smaller booths and took a moment to adjust the curtains as he caught up.

“Is this ok?” She asked.

“Yes, thank you.” Law slid into the seat and looked across the room to the empty stage and cleared floor in front of it. Tables were sparsely placed throughout the center of the room, but a designated area had been left for what Law assumed was a dance floor. Judging by the number of people, the lounge was actually busier than Law had assumed based on noise. Some were in booths like him, with dates or laptops and notes spread across the table; there were a few patrons at the bar, but most were at the tables, chatting and laughing.

“The band will be back in a moment.” The hostess reassured him when she saw his gaze linger on quiet stage. “Something went weird with the wires for the speakers.” She placed the drinks menu on the table along with a small piece of paper. “That’s the wi-fi password if you need it. Will you be ordering anything from the bar?”

“What’s the house scotch?” Law asked as he pulled out his ID.

“Alabasta Kings.”

“A scotch on the rocks then.” He waited until she left before getting his laptop out of his bag and setting it up. His email was loading when he heard the room quiet just a bit and the lights changed.

“Ok, sorry about that guys,” Law recognized Nami’s voice as she apologized for the delay. He glanced over to see her in a shimmering dress on stage while Sanji and Brook were setting up to start playing again. “But Usopp fixed the problem so we’re good for the rest of the night.” She stepped off to the side so Sanji could take the mic.

Law turned back to his laptop so he could start sorting through his messages and work a bit on reports that were due at the hospital. The first notes were played on the piano before Sanji began singing softly in time with the bass that sped up the rhythm of the song. Law paused before he began composing a reply email and looked back to the stage. Despite the slow start, the beat was quick and catchy. Several couples had gotten up to dance, and Law smiled as he watched an older couple move across the dance floor with ease like they were teens again.

A unique sound, something deeper but more quirky than the others, kicked off the chorus of the song. Law’s gaze flicked up to the straw hat and then settled on the man wearing it. He had seen Luffy in suits before, simple dress shirts with a jacket and slacks. It’s what he wore when he performed, but this was a little different.

With the dark room and light shining on the stage, his hat tipped just enough to cast a shadow over his eyes, the sleeves of his jacket rolled up his forearms…

Law watched, mesmerized by the sight. Luffy moved with the music, swaying back and forth or stepping to the beat; he played with his eyes closed and a small smile at the edge of his lips. He looked classy, like he was made for the music and his instrument was an extension of himself.

The hostess bringing his drink back forced him to look away. “You should have said you were with the band.” Before he could reply that he wasn’t, she handed over a note. “From Miss Nami. And don’t worry, your drinks are on the house.”

Law sighed as she left. He read the note quickly, a small message from Nami about how he should’ve called ahead if he was going to stop by and she’d come by to sit with him later, and returned his attention to his lover on stage. “Can’t believe I’ve been missing out on this…”

* * *

 

The lounge was winding down with only an hour before close. It was one in the morning, and the band had finished their last song. Law had shared a few drinks with Nami before she had to head backstage again. He’d spent the evening listening specifically to Luffy, what notes the saxophone made, which parts did he play alone, and now he closed his eyes with his head leaned back, filing all the memories away until next time.

The booth’s cushioned seat dipped beside him and a warm hand slid across his shoulders. “Hey handsome. Come here often?”

“No, but I should really fix that.” Law chuckled. He opened an eye at Luffy and pulled him closer. “You sounded good up there.”

Luffy grinned. “Thanks. I didn’t know you were getting off early.”

“Neither did I…” Law sighed. “Are you all done?”

Luffy gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “Yeah, let me grab my sax, and I’ll meet you in the foyer.”

* * *

 

Law didn’t truly feel his exhaustion until his back hit the bed. “Ok… maybe it’s a good thing I have the next four days off.” He heard Luffy laugh. Law threw an arm over his eyes to block out the light. It was turned off a moment later, but he didn’t remove his arm. “Come here, I need to tell you something.”

He felt Luffy crawl over him, naked except for his boxers. “What’s up?” He pulled the unfastened belt from Law’s pants and began unbuttoning his shirt.

“I’m sorry.”

Luffy paused. “Why?” He picked up Law’s arm so he could look at him.

Law blinked at the darkness. “For never asking you to play, and I don’t know… not caring as much as I should about your music. I-” He stopped with a hitched breath because something wet was licking up his stomach. Luffy’s tongue, he gathered after a kiss was placed where his chest tattoo ended.

“You care.” Luffy said. He kissed his way up Law’s chest. “You always ask how the performance was when I play at the hotel and you remind me to practice.”

Law clicked his tongue. “That’s why I never heard you play before tonight.” He could see Luffy better now, the shine of light in his eyes as he looked at Law.

“Hm, I guess I don’t really play around you often.”

“Never.” Law corrected.

“That’s not true. We met because you heard me playing.” Luffy resumed his trail of kisses.

“What? No, we met at that antique store downtown…”

“Cricket also knows how to fix instruments. Remember, you asked us to keep the squeaking down.” Luffy was talking against his neck now.

“That squeaking…”

“Was my saxophone.” Luffy confirmed.

Law snorted. “How…? Thank goodness it didn’t sound like that tonight.”

“I know.” Luffy sighed with a small laugh.

It was silent for a moment before Law spoke again. “You looked good playing on stage.” He could feel Luffy’s grin as he sucked softly at his neck. “I kinda want to have sex right now, but I’m too exhausted.”

Luffy buried his face against Law’s shoulder in a vain attempt to muffle his laughter. Law pinched his side. “Don’t laugh at my pain.”

“Mmm, poor thing.” Luffy settled into giggling. He scooted back a bit so he could pull Law up in a sitting position. “It’s ok. We have tomorrow and the day after that. Let me take care of you.” He tugged off the last of Law’s clothes until he was in a similar state of undress.

Despite how tired Law was, sleep didn’t come quickly. He laid wrapped in Luffy’s embrace while the younger tapped out a rhythm against his arm. “What are you playing?”

“Hm?”

Law rested a hand over one of Luffy’s. “This. I used to think you were just drumming your fingers but…” He paused and ran his thumb against Luffy’s knuckles. “It’s always the same, and it’s patterned, not random. Are you playing something?”

“You noticed? You’re smart.”

‘After a year of dating you…’ Law thought bitterly. It was going to take him a while to get over the guilt and feeling like a bad boyfriend.

“Don’t laugh?” Luffy sounded almost embarrassed.

“Promise. What song is it?”

“Careless Whisper.”

Law sighed and scratched his nose. “Luffy?”

“You don’t know that song?”

“Yeah…”

As soon as Law said it, Luffy was up and rummaging for something in the corner of the room. Law considered flipping on the lamp beside the bed. He didn’t really want to move that much though, so he waited. The first note of from the sax startled him a bit, the bedroom was small and it bounced off the walls.

‘Guess this is the song,’ Law listened to it, and it did sound familiar. But he had never heard the whole song or had a name to place to it. The melody Luffy was playing seemed excessively sexy, which was a weird thing to think about a piece of music. Law was smiling regardless when Luffy stopped.

“Nice song.”

“Eh… it is, I guess.” Luffy rejoined him on the bed.

“You guess?”

“The music is, but the lyrics aren’t my favorite.”

“What’s it about?” Law reached out for Luffy’s hand.

“Regret… because the singer cheated on his lover. That’s what it sounds like to me, anyway. It’s kind of a sad song, but everyone always calls it a love song.”

“Broken love is still love.” Law squeezed Luffy’s hand.

“It’s dumb. He shouldn’t have done that.” Luffy laid next to Law. “But I like playing it, just the sax part.”

“Maybe you should rewrite the lyrics?”

“Maybe…” Luffy opened his arms so Law could lay against his shoulders.

“Rewrite them for us.” Law mumbled sleepily. “Something to match your sax…”

Luffy smiled down at him, his breathing slowing into long peaceful beats. The warmth of sleep and his lover pulled at him, and as his eyes closed, his fingers tapped out the notes of a love song.


End file.
